For American in North Korea, The Wait Continues

Kenneth Bae, the American being held prisoner in North Korea, has been looking for a lifeline from Washington. But it’s not clear if help will be coming soon.

Earlier this week, Mr. Bae, a tour operator and Christian missionary, spoke with Choson Sinbo reporters from a Pyongyang hospital he had just been moved to. Mr. Bae told the Japan-based, pro-North Korean newspaper that his health was deteriorating, and that he wanted the U.S. government to “actively work” for his freedom.

Although officials at the U.S. State Department have acknowledged Mr. Bae’s deteriorating health, the government has been cautious about making any commitments and promises about the 45-year-old resident of Washington state.

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Reuters

U.S. Christian missionary Kenneth Bae in an undated family picture. Bae was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor after North Korea’s Supreme Court convicted him of state subversion. REUTERS/Courtesy of Myunghee Bae

In a Tuesday afternoon press briefing in Washington, deputy spokesperson Marie Harf hewed closely to the government’s long-stated position — that the North Korean government ought to grant amnesty to Mr. Bae and release him immediately.

In response to questions from the press, Ms. Harf said she wasn’t aware of any plans to send a high-level official to help with his release, and sidestepped queries about whether any such moves were being considered.

If there’s any glimmer of hope for Mr. Bae and his family in coming days, it may come in the form of a visit to the region by Robert King, the U.S. State Department’s special envoy on North Korean human rights issues.

The State Department said Tuesday that Mr. King, who has worked to secure the release of U.S. citizens previously detained in the North, will travel to China, South Korea and Japan next week. Mr. King plans to meet with senior officials in all three countries, though there is no mention of a stop in North Korea.

Mr. Bae, who was detained in November 2012 and sentenced in April to 15 years of hard labor for “hostile acts” against the country, is now the longest-serving U.S. prisoner in North Korea in recent memory.

As his detention stretches into its 10th month, Mr. Bae has appeared increasingly gaunt and Choson Sinbo reported that he has lost 23 kilograms, or about 50 pounds.